Christian Bale is on Parade -- Batman is Back!

Christian Bale talks parenting, privacy and “kindred spirit” Heath Ledger in the new issue of Parade. Here are some great excerpts:

Your co-star Heath Ledger, who plays The Joker, died tragically after the film wrapped. Do you mind talking about him? No, listen, I want to talk about Heath.
When you miss somebody, you want to speak about him. He was a unique character, a very infectious character. He was a good man, and I was glad to have spent time with him. He
was somebody who I’d been seeing on a daily basis for months. It takes a long time to accept that someone’s gone, when all body and mind are telling you that this is somebody you will know for a great deal of time. He was something of a kindred spirit to myself.

It must be difficult. Much of it has to do with my respect for his daughter, whom he loved so dearly and whom he would talk about so often. For me, that is of incredible importance. I hope in a small way that The Dark Knight can be a celebration of his work. Not like the hideous circus after he died, which I felt was an invasion of a private life. This movie is not a personal home video. This is what he did. I hope people will embrace that in the correct fashion.

Tell me about agreeing to do the next Terminator. I’ve always had two varying degrees of success, and I’m not talking about anything to do with box office. I’m talking about my own parameters. You know, an interest in attempting in a wide variety of stories. I never desired to be a big studio movie actor, action actor. I’ve never desired to be a serious independent movie actor. I enjoy all of those. It depends on what mood I’m in. And therefore, I will try to bend those stories into becoming something that I can enjoy myself, varying degrees of success with that. We have an opportunity with it for a continuation, but also a reinvention, and I have to say, much the same way in my mind as we have with Batman. And beyond that I won’t say anymore because we’re just starting. (Editor’s Translation: “No, I can’t talk about it.”)